Netflix Commits to French Originals with ‘Gims’, ‘Of Earth And Blood’, And More

By Elsa Keslassy, Variety
Published March 26, 2019, 9:29 a.m. ET

As it prepares to open a fully-staffed office in France and ramp up its investment in local originals, Netflix has unveiled three new documentaries, Move (working title), Gims (working title), and Anelka (working title), and the feature film Of Earth And Blood while at Series Mania in Lille.

Announced during a panel with Netflix’s commissioning team, the titles will be launching on Netflix from 2020 and will be available in over 190 countries for the streamers’s 139 million members worldwide.

A documentary series, Move portrays six contemporary dance choreographers from totally different backgrounds, ranging from the Spanish flamenco to the vertiginous gaga dance, and from Jamaïcan dancehall to American urban and contemporary dance. “Move will explore the choreographers’ personal histories, chaotic career paths, convictions and their translation into bodies, gestures, grace, sweat, boldness and determination,” said Netflix in a statement. Move is produced by Falabracks and Gaumont.

Gims is a documentary feature about French rapper whose last album, “Centure Noire,” sold over 5 million units. The documentary follows the singer behind-the-scene as he embarks on a journey from Paris to Marrakech via the United States, culminating in Kinshasa, his hometown. The filming took place over a year during the recording of his hit album and the preparation of his tour, ​entitled ​“Fuego Tour,” which will make a stop at the Stade de France. Gims is produced by Black Dynamite and ​Chahawat.

Anelka is a documentary about Nicolas Anelka, the controversial former soccer child prodigy. Anelka sheds light on the world of professional soccer and draws an intimate portrait of Anelka, discussing his childhood, faith, his experience at the Real Madrid, his troubled history with the French coaches, his banning from the World Cup in South Africa, among other things. The documentary also features testimonies from Paul Pogba, Omar Sy, Patrice Evra, Arsène Wenger, Thierry Henry. Anelka is produced by Black Dynamite and Black Mountain LTD.

An action-packed film, O​f Earth and Blood is directed by Julien Leclercq and takes place in the heart of the mountains where a man and his daughter, Said and Sarah, run a sawmill family business hiring mostly ex-cons and young offenders. Everything is going smoothly until the day one of them brings back trouble. Said and Sarah, who know the land and sawmill like the back of their hands, ready for the face-off when a cartel comes knocking.

O​f Earth and Blood​ is written by Leclercq and Jeremie Guez. The cast will be headlined by Sami Bouajila, Eric Ebouaney, Samy Seghir, Sophia Lesaffre, Redouane Harjane. Julien Madon at Labyrinthe Films is producing.

Netflix is attending Series Mania with Osmosis (pictured above) which plays in competition.